Oregon’s placekicking unit could feature new faces all around

In the fall, recruit Matt Wogan is scheduled to arrive on campus and engage in a spirited battle for Oregon's placekicking job.

Incumbent Alejandro Maldonado has made some big kicks in the Ducks' BCS bowl wins the past two seasons, but also had some frustrating misses in the two Pac-12 losses during that same span. Wogan is generally expected to win the job, but if so he'd be just one of several new faces on Oregon's placekicking unit.

The Ducks will also have a new snapper and a new holder, raising the specter of three new players at the three key positions on a unit whose chemistry must be impeccable. Snapper Jeff Palmer and holder Jackson Rice have graduated, and the team is auditioning new players for those roles this spring.

The easiest decision might be at the spot that's first to touch the ball on placekicks. Senior Drew Howell has been Oregon's punt snapper the last three years, and figures to take over the shorter snaps this fall, after Palmer handled that job so capably the last four years.

Should anything happen to Howell, the next choice would likely be left tackle Tyler Johnstone. "Tyler can really snap the ball," Osborne said. "It's amazing, for a guy that hasn't done it since high school."

Once the ball is snapped, it will probably be handled by one of Oregon's backup quarterbacks, now that Rice is gone. Senior Dustin Haines was beaten out by Rice for the job in 2010 after Nate Costa was injured, so he could be in the mix, but redshirt freshmen Jake Rodrigues and Jeff Lockie are strong candidates, Osborne said.

The Ducks rely on their holder for much more than settling the ball before it's kicked. While Chip Kelly was head coach, Oregon often lined up in a two-point formation for its first extra point of a game, and Rice threw five passes in such situations in 2012, completing three. In 2011, he also ran for a two-point conversion.

Prior to executing such a play, the holder is also responsible for identifying when it's prudent to try for two, and when the defense is aligned in such a way that the Ducks would be better off audibling back into a kicking formation.

One guy who would be well-suited for such duties is starting quarterback Marcus Mariota, but the Ducks won't take that risk.

"We'd probably try not to if we can," Osborne said. "All you need is some goofball off the backside to run and dive, and (Mariota's) got his knee on the ground. That guy's too valuable."